


Blooming Onions and Beyond: Vampire Nutrition in the Barbverse

by Barb Cummings (Rahirah)



Series: The Barbverse [129]
Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Meta, barbverse, vampire biology
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-28
Updated: 2014-07-28
Packaged: 2018-02-10 20:33:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2039163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rahirah/pseuds/Barb%20Cummings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As you know, Bob, the Barbverse is a post-Gift AU wherein a soulless Spike gets dosed with Mohra blood, transforming him into a living demon. He retains most of the strengths and weaknesses of your standard vampire, but since he’s now a living being rather than an animated corpse, they work a bit differently, and require somewhat different care and feeding. Today I’m gonna look at the feeding aspect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blooming Onions and Beyond: Vampire Nutrition in the Barbverse

My working theory for ‘normal’ Jossverse vampires is that they consume and digest blood (rather than, say, absorbing it directly into their veins.) They can gain or lose weight depending upon their diet and the amount of exercise they get, just like humans. [Canon citations: Harmony worries about pig's blood going to her hips, Angel goes on a workout binge during his beige period, Spike's stomach rumbles when he's hungry.] However, the energy they get from the blood they consume is primarily metaphysical rather than physical, as blood doesn’t contain enough calories by volume to sustain something the size of a human being. They are capable of metabolizing other liquids, as seen in numerous examples of Spike and Angel getting drunk, or trying to; Angel tells Willow that coffee makes him jittery. They can consume solid foods, but obtain little or no nutritional value from them. Such foods pass through the digestive system and are eliminated in the usual fashion.

There is conflicting evidence as to what degree Jossverse vampires maintain a human sense of taste. Angel claims they do not, and rarely eats human food - however, when the old man possesses Angel's body in "Carpe Noctem," he eats burritos with apparent relish. On the other end of the spectrum, Spike expresses fondness for a number of human foods. In between, we have Harmony eating pizza (but not seeming to enjoy it much) and the nesting vamps in "Crush" popping popcorn.

Live vampires are supernatural creatures, so there’s still a certain amount of “A Wizard Did It!” involved in their biological processes. But in many ways, live vampires in the Barbverse are typical obligate carnivores. So what do you feed them? In order of dietary importance:

1\. Blood – human by preference, but any endothermic species will do. As with normal vampires, much of the virtue they gain from blood is metaphysical rather than physical. Live vampires must have one to two pints (depending upon age, size, and degree of physical activity) of blood a day in order to live; deprived of it, they will eventually waste away and die even if provided with solid food.  
2\. Organ meat from systems related to blood production and/or distribution: liver, heart, bone marrow.  
3\. Other types of animal tissue, including byproducts such as milk, cheese, and eggs.  
4\. Limited amounts of carbohydrates. Like most carnivores, vampires do not digest carbohydrates well, and derive most of their physical metabolic energy from dietary fat. However, in the case of individuals who are very active, healing from an injury, or breastfeeding, carbohydrates can provide a necessary source of energy. (On a day to day basis, supernatural strength, speed and accelerated healing burn a lot of carbs.)

For optimum nutritive value, all blood and animal tissue should be raw, and as fresh as possible. However, many live vampires enjoy the variety that cooking lends. Live vampires have a sense of taste intermediate between that of a human and a normal vampire. In general, their sense of smell is more important to them in their enjoyment of food than their sense of taste. Their palate is geared towards protein and fat rather than sugar; those who enjoy sweet foods are often attracted to the fat content rather than the sugar content. Their lower body temperature also plays into this, as the taste of some items (chocolate, for example) is released only at higher temperatures. A live vampire, therefore, would probably prefer hot chocolate to a Hershey bar, but only if it were made with full-fat milk; otherwise it wouldn’t taste like much to them.


End file.
